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COVER STORY |
January/February 2008
Sultry Sanchez |
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| By Kathleen Mascareñas |
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Photo by Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage |
She can act, sing, dance and model—and has been
plugging away at her craft ever since she left the family
cocoon in Puerto Rico in the mid-1990s to pursue her
dreams in the Big Apple.
Roselyn Sanchez freely admits her early experiences in New
York left much to be desired and gave her a serious dose of
reality. After just eight months, the formerly pampered 34-yearold
beauty queen was broke and forced to do restaurant work to
survive. Despite many career ups and downs, she has never lost
her drive to succeed or her thick Spanish accent—which has
been both a blessing and a curse, particularly in an era when
anti-immigration feelings are white-hot.
Sanchez, sometimes dubbed the “the Latin Sandra Bullock,”
may not yet be as recognizable as former schoolmate Ricky
Martin, but you probably have seen some of her work in the last
10 years (see page 52).
When she recently sat down to chat with Editor at Large
Kathleen Mascareñas, the beautiful 5’5” Latina proved there is
one tough chica lurking underneath those delicate, girl-next-door
looks.
THE LOWDOWN
BORN:
April 2,
1973, San Juan, P.R.
AWARDS:
Miss Puerto Rico
Petite (1993) and
Miss America
Petite (1994)
SINGING
CAREER:
Released Boriquena,
her first album, in 2005
EARLY
ASPIRATIONS:
Wanted to be an ice
skater or a boxer
LOVE
INTEREST:
Currently dating
actor Eric Winter
CALIENTE:
Ranked #33 on
Maxim’s2007
Hot 100 List
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Latino Future:When you moved from Puerto Rico to
the U.S. at 21, you spoke very little English.You
learned on the job while acting in the soap opera,
As the World Turns, in 1996. Were you frightened?
Roselyn Sanchez: It was very difficult. I was able to
understand a lot, but I couldn’t open my mouth and speak
because of the verbs and tenses. I didn’t know what was past
and present tense.
It’s often intimidating for legal immigrants in this
country to speak broken English in public. Are you
a role model for them?
I hope...[but] I’m always making everybody aware that the
accent has been a problem. It’s difficult. For some people, it’s
exotic [and] sexy—and they love it. For others, it’s noise and
immediately they don’t think you are as educated. It’s been
really difficult for me to educate producers. I tell them, “You
know what? I can be a lawyer, cop, teacher or doctor, even
though I speak this way.“ (laughs)
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Photo by Ron Phillips © Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved. |
Do you still feel uncomfortable with your English or
are you past that?
I think I am [past it]. It’s who I am. Now, at my age, I’m just
like, ”It’s what it is!“ (laughs). I’m fully bilingual. Some people
[need to] open up [their] ears a little bit and understand that
America [has] different cultures.
Your mom was not keen on you moving here. Do you
have any regrets?
No regrets in terms of my professional life and the way the
whole thing happened—[with all the]
ups and downs. I think everything
was absolutely necessary and I
love it.
Describe your journey in
leaving Puerto Rico to
pursue your dreams in
America.
[It was] hell. I was just this girl with
this incredible dream and I didn’t see
anything else but that. Even though the first two years in
New York were absolute hell, my vision was so big that I was
unaffected by everything. You know what I mean? I knew it
was bad, but it [didn’t] matter. (laughs)
When you say absolute hell, what do you mean?
I came from a very close, [upper] middle-class family [with]
three brothers. I was the youngest [and] only girl. My parents
gave me everything. I was working on TV for three years on the
number one live comedy show [in Puerto Rico]. I [also] won a
pageant.
Then I moved to the Bronx with a family I didn’t know. [I]
walked [to the] bus station, [took the] subway to the city [and
didn’t speak] English. It was a reality check. I lost all my money
and was broke, so I had to go to work at a restaurant. [These
were] things I wasn’t used to.
What did that desperate struggle teach you?
I needed to be more responsible. I needed to realize that I had to
pay my dues like everybody else. Life is not easy and I’m going
to have to work really hard and not complain. My father said to
me, “If you are going to leave, then never ask for a penny.” I had
to embrace that.
Now do you share pennies with him?
I do! (laughs hysterically) Now I’m the one paying. (laughter
continues)
It was good that he told me that because [my parents] took
care of me all my life. When I said I was going to leave, he said,
"You want to be a woman. Go be a woman."
It made me so strong. There was no way I was going to go
back to my house to tell my father I didn’t make it.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
MOVIES
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THE GAME PLAN (2007)
THE PERFECT SLEEP (in post-production at press time)
VENUS & VEGAS (2007)
YELLOW(2006, writer and star)
RUSH HOUR 2(2001)
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TV
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WITHOUT A TRACE (50 episodes, 2005-2007)
KOJAK (Five episodes in 2005)
L.A. DRAGNET (Three episodes, 2003-2004)
THE DREW CAREY SHOW(One episode, 2002)
AS THE WORLD TURNS
(23 episodes, 1996-1997)
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You attended third to sixth grades with Ricky Martin.
Did Ricky ever go through an awkward stage or has
he always been good looking?
I remember he was a pretty boy in school. He was doing TV
commercials and all the girls in school were like, "Ooooh, we
love him!" Then he became [part of the band] Menudo and he
was so cool.
Explain your aspiration to become the Latin Sade.
I wanted to [but] it didn’t work. (laughs hysterically) That was
the idea. Everybody told me I needed to do pop music—to try to
be JLO because I dance and sing. I wanted to do exactly the
opposite. I’m a big fan of Sade, so I said, ”I want to do earthy
music and chill...do things that are very mellow in Spanglish.”
I love my record. I think it’s so beautiful, but I think everybody
was like, “What is she doing?” They expected me to just
go out on stage and have 25 dancers behind me and I didn’t want
to do that.
You said if the acting, modeling, dancing, singing
venture doesn’t work out, then you’d like to be a
sports reporter.
I’d be good! I love it. It would be a problem if I did it in English.
They’d be like, “What is she saying?” (chuckling)
You are one tough
chica. Are you really
into boxing and
extreme fighting?
I love it. I’m brutal.
Don’t know [why,
but] I’m obsessed
with ultimate fighting.
It might be that
I’m sick. I don’t
know.
Do you still want
to be the next
Salma Hayek?
It’s incredible
because I
remember
[Salma]
opening
[her]
production
company
eight or
nine years ago.
People don’t know
that she’s been trying
to produce things for so
long.
It wasn’t an overnight success
with Ugly Betty or Frida. It
took her many, many years of
hard work, but it’s doable and
she’s on her way to controlling
an empire. For me,
that’s incredible to know—
as a Latina and as a female.
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